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As the owner of three New Orleans restaurants — Briquette, Briquette Wine Room, and New Orleans Creole Cookery — I breathed a sigh of relief when Congress agreed to a COVID emergency relief bill sending desperately needed help across our country.
But this latest rescue package, while a welcome next step, falls far short of what’s essential to keeping small businesses like mine afloat, especially as we approach the darkest days of the pandemic with a COVID-19 vaccine still many months away for most Americans.
In many cities, indoor dining is again being shut down, creating immense uncertainty about the future. Navigating this continuing uncertainty requires more than Congress’ survival stop-gap measure that will help us only limp into April after missing out on our busiest months of the year. If we want to ensure that small business owners in Louisiana and across the U.S. can keep our doors open and our employees on payroll, we need a long-term recovery agenda that puts us – the backbones of our communities – front and center.
This is not where my fellow small business owners and I expected to be when this year started. In December 2019, my husband and I expanded our business and opened Briquette Wine Room — a space for special events. Between our now three restaurants, which are entirely reliant in tourism traffic in the French Quarter and convention traffic in the Warehouse District, we employed more than 100 people.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt. We knew the shutdowns and ongoing restrictions were important to the health and safety of all Americans. But for hard-hit businesses like restaurants, these ongoing restrictions have forced us to make difficult, often heartbreaking, decisions just to survive. While we’ve been able to keep our management team in place — paying them out of our own pockets while our doors were closed for months — we’ve been forced to lay off more than 60 of our other employees. Our revenues have fallen 90%.
My story is not unique. I’m part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices community, and a survey last month found that 42% of us have been forced to lay off employees or cut compensation, more than half had to stop paying ourselves and a third dipped into personal savings to keep our businesses operational. It’s even more bleak for Black small business owners — 61% have forgone paying themselves and 58% report using personal savings to stay open.
The recent COVID relief package will help bridge the gap for small businesses over the coming weeks and months; but that will fall short of the time it will take for New Orleans tourism and thus diners in our restaurants to return to business as usual.
While grateful to legislators for agreeing on a relief package, I’m pleading, as a small business owner and restaurateur, for our elected officials to step up with a comprehensive plan for small businesses. We employ nearly half of the private sector workforce, and we need greater access to long-term capital, liability protection and affordable health care and childcare for our employees.
I’m proud to be part of what makes New Orleans a great place to live, work and visit and to have built a small business with my husband that gives back to our community, even in tough times. During COVID, we’ve been supplying meals to in-need families while our restaurants remain empty. But the future of my small business and so many others like ours are at stake. So are the futures of our nation’s cities and towns, our Main Streets, where small business owners are at the core of thriving communities.
Please join me and other small business owners in urging members of Congress to help us stay “open for business.”
Anna Tusa is owner of Briquette, Briquette Wine Room and New Orleans Creole Cookery.


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David Cameron has arrived in Mumbai to head up the largest trade delegation taken overseas by a Prime Minister and to "open doors for British business" in India. Among the party of more than 100 people joining David Cameron are representatives of major companies including:
- BAE Systems
- Football's Premier League
- London Underground
More top news
It will be a mainly dry but chilly start across the UK with a few showers across northern Scotland and northwest England.
Marks and Spencer will become the first UK retailer to add vitamin D to its entire packaged bread range.
An over-the-top 80's action movie parody featuring kung fu Hitler and a David Hasselhoff soundtrack gets almost four million views online.

domain: news


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HTC’s Gadgets to Be Upgraded with Google Mobile OS
On Wednesday, HTC made an announcement of introducing Google’s recently launched mobile OS. The gadgets that would be benefited by the upgrades include 16 HTC devices. HTC has also informed that the rollout of ICS for HTC Sensation and HTC Sensation XE is pending as it is in the final stage.
The date by which the updated HTC’s gadgets would be available to the customers have not yet been informed by the HTC. However, HTC said, “It will take time…to get the update. We are working closely with our carrier partners to nail down updates schedules for other smartphones”.
Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone is believed to be the first gadget to be updated with Ice Cream Sandwich. It has further been unveiled that the HTC would also be upgrading its gadgets to Android 4.0.
HTC’s Sensation and Sensation XE would be benefited by the upgradation. It has been informed that by week, the two devices would be successfully upgraded to the Android 4.0. Soon after it, HTC’s sensation 4G and Sensation XL would also be upgraded with Android 4.0. In the coming time, a lot of improvements in the gadgets of HTC would be witnessed. Many smartphone manufacturers are introducing upgraded device to beat the growing competition in the market.
Famed microbiologist Dr. Mark Wainberg, who played...Read More
Microsoft Corp. has claimed that it has already...Read More
Struggling to fight back soaring heroin and HIV...Read More
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Tech giant Google Inc. has plans to introduce a...Read More


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For the second consecutive quarter, I.B.M. reported earnings and revenues yesterday that were better than most analysts expected. But the computer giant urged Wall Street to interpret the report as an indication of its strength, not a general rebound in technology spending.
I.B.M. said it had been gaining market share in its major businesses, even those where actual revenues had been flat or down. The company, based in Armonk, N.Y., said demand for new information technology products and services was no longer falling among its customers but that it did not expect an increase soon.
''We're hoping we'll start to see a little bit of an uptick in the second half,'' said John R. Joyce, I.B.M.'s chief financial officer.
I.B.M.'s total revenue from its continuing operations climbed to $23.68 billion in the quarter, up 7 percent from $22.14 billion the same quarter a year ago. But analysts said the figures needed to be viewed through the lens of a strong dollar, which inflated the value of sales overseas, and the impact of the addition of services employees when the company acquired PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting.Continue reading the main story
''You're looking at flat to modestly down growth if you strip out currency and PWC,'' said A. M. Sacconaghi Jr., an analyst who follows I.B.M. for Sanford C. Bernstein & Company.
I.B.M. shares, which had fallen $1.54, to $86.05 before the earnings were released at the close of regular trading, fell as low as $84 in early after-hours trading.
I.B.M. said that it earned just under $1.02 billion in the quarter, or 59 cents a diluted share, down more than 56 percent from the period a year ago. Excluding the disk drive business that I.B.M. sold to Hitachi on Dec. 31 for $1.8 billion, I.B.M. had a net income of $1.91 billion from its continuing operations, or $1.11 a share, down 25.5 percent from a year ago.
That figure included a charge of 23 cents a share reflecting adjustments to reserves previously set aside for restructuring and the $614 million that I.B.M. said it spent integrating the consulting business acquired from PricewaterhouseCoopers. Including the 23 cents, I.B.M. earned $1.34 a share in the quarter, 4 cents ahead of the Wall Street consensus.
Bolstered by the addition of the PricewaterhouseCoopers employees, revenue for the Global Services unit jumped 16.7 percent to almost $10.58 billion. Global Services signed contracts for $18.1 billion, which was roughly double the third quarter. But the quarter included a number of contracts I.B.M. had said previously had been unexpectedly pushed back from the third quarter.
Mr. Sacconaghi said that the new signings for the services group were just $400,000 more than I.B.M. needed to match its performance a year ago, excluding the contributions of the PricewaterhouseCoopers group.
Sales of computers and other hardware rose 1 percent, to $8.1 billion, but would have declined 1 percent without the currency translation increase. Software revenues were flat at $3.8 billion (or down 2 percent in constant dollars) compared with a year ago. Mr. Joyce said customers continued to delay software buying decisions and to make smaller purchases than in the past.
I.B.M. said that sales remained weak in several major markets, including Britain, Germany and Japan. But Europe finished strongly in the last weeks of 2002. Looking at the business in terms of customer segments, Mr. Joyce singled out sales to governments as an area of stronger- than-expected growth.
Mr. Joyce said that I.B.M. has reduced its assumed rate of return on pension funds in the future to 8 percent, down 1.5 percentage points from a year ago.Continue reading the main story


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BERLIN — Germany’s retailers want equal rights, which, in the 24-7 world of e-commerce, means being able to stay open for business when they want, any day they want, including Sunday.
“I think retailers have to go to Karlsruhe [the seat of Germany’s two highest courts],” declared Lovro Mandac, chairman of the board of the 137-door Galeria Kaufhof department store chain.
Speaking at the Management Forum’s 10th German Retail Real Estate Congress that closed here last week, Mandac questioned, “Why can people make purchases from their sofas on Sunday and yet can’t shop in a store on Sunday? Even sex cinemas are allowed to stay open. We’re driving people to boredom.”
Playing on the slogan “On Saturdays, Daddy belongs to me” that led the union drive for a 40-hour, five-day workweek in Germany in the Fifties, Mandac now argued, “We need Sundays. We have to give the families this time to go to the city centers and do something together.” The current laws, which give local governments the responsibility for regulating the number of permitted Sunday shopping days per year, “no longer have anything to do with worker protection,” he said.
Mandac and other speakers called for “equal fighting chances” between stationary and online retailers. “We see 25 percent of online orders being made on Sunday. We want equality and we’ll have to fight for it, or the Web will take even more [of the business],” Mandac said.
Germany’s retailers and developers are facing a widespread structural change, starting with the shift from brick-and-mortar to online sales, falling consumer traffic, the re-urbanization of the retail landscape and an overall demographic shift to city centers, an aging population, rising energy costs and changing consumer habits and demands, speakers pointed out.
To complicate matters, consumers and their preferences are hardly a homogeneous lot. As Stefan Genth, director of the German Retail Federation (HDE) outlined it, if you look at today’s German consumers, 52 percent are traditional buyers with a preference for in-store purchases, 31 percent are selective online shoppers (for books or CDs, for example) and 11 percent are enthusiastic online shoppers. But if you focus on people under 30 years of age, 23 percent are traditional buyers, 52 percent are selective online shoppers and 20 percent enthusiastic online shoppers, whereas the breakdown for the younger smart native population sees only 9 percent in the traditional category, 65 percent selective onliners and 26 percent enthusiastic onliners. “We have a changing consumer structure and this trend is not reversible,” Genth stated.
However, while the distinct online proclivities of the younger generations have broadly shaped cross- and multichannel retail strategies, Germany’s demographics also point in another direction. In 2025, there will be twice as many people over 60 as under 20, whereas in 2035, Germany will have the oldest population in the world, Ulrich Reinhardt, scientific head of the Foundation for Future Studies in Hamburg, told the audience.
He described 70 percent of the German middle-class consumers as “luxese,” sometimes buying on a luxury level, and at other times “askese,” or ascetic. The upshot: a boom of brands on the highest and lowest price levels.
Service, Reinhardt emphasized, will be the holy grail for retailers. At present, only one out of every four German consumers feels well served in the stores, and three-quarters have left stores because of bad service, he reported. “In the long view, we will see a renaissance of consumer orientation in the stores, and it makes sense for retailers, because they can’t win the price war,” he said.
A similar high-low divide can clearly be seen in retail real estate locations, according to the HDE’s Genth. “Prime locations remain prime, but the midrange locations are more and more under pressure. And there’s real need for action in rural areas.” Moreover, when it comes to scale, and global trends in shopping center design, Derek Barker, managing director of Haskoll Architects and Designers, forecast “bigger or smaller centers will be gaining pace, not medium-size ones.”
He and others underscored the growing importance of shopping centers as entertainment hubs, with gastronomy, leisure and lifestyle activities, as well as iconic design playing an increasingly pivotal role. “We need to create places people want to visit and enjoy,” Barker summed up.
The most controversial presentation came from Alexander Graf, founder and director of eTribes Framework, a Hamburg consulting firm specializing in e-commerce. The basic thesis behind the popular concept of multichannel is that when stationary retailers offer their wares online, consumer loyalty to their store allows them to sell, Graf explained. “But this loyalty doesn’t exist.
“E-commerce and stationary retail are two completely different forms,” he continued. In stationary or brick-and-mortar retail, you have a selection of vendors leading to selection of product and ending in purchase of product, whereas e-commerce is about selection of product leading to selection of vendor and then purchase of product. Retailers in e-commerce are pure service providers, and given the extremely low margins in online channels, “we believe multichannel is not helpful for stationary retailers. The margin doesn’t bear it out.”
In the view of Graf’s firm, brick-and-mortar retailing will always have relevance, but more as a marketing tool. “We say it’s important for brands to have stationary stores to build brand image and to upgrade brand recognition, but 60 percent of the cost of the store is to support the brand and 40 percent will be a marketing expenditure so that the brand can sell its products in general,” Graf said. Such a scenario doesn’t suggest a financially viable future for multibrand formats, including department stores.
The current prospects for Germany’s retail scene nonetheless look promising, according to both the latest GFK consumer climate report and the HDE’s most recent forecast.
At the start of 2014, German consumers were definitely upbeat about the economy, with income prospects climbing to a 13-year high. GFK reported their willingness continued to grow, beating out November’s seven-year high, and said the overall consumer climate was further boosted by a recent slump in the propensity to save.
The HDE is expecting sales in 2014 to grow 1.5 percent to 439.7 billion euros, or $592.77 billion at current exchange. “Underlying conditions for consumption in Germany have never been so favorable,” Genth said. Food sales and e-commerce are expected to fuel growth, with online sales growth forecast at 17 percent, reaching sales of 38.7 billion euros, or $52.17 billion.
EXCLUSIVE: @tomford is opening its first-ever beauty store. The boutique, which opens November 20 in London’s Covent Gardens, was designed with the over-the-top glam Ford is known for. Read the full story on WWD.com, link in bio. #wwdbeauty #wwdnews (📷: Simon Wagner) #TomFordBeauty
New York-based DJ @harleyvnewton threw a party to celebrate the holiday collection of her dress and pajama line @hvn at the Ladurée Beverly Hills. It Girls @katebosworth, @rashidajones and more joined in on the fun, which included cocktails, croque monsieur sandwiches and a photo booth. #wwdfashion (📷: Owen Kolasinski/BFA.com)
For the holidays, @Burberry partnered with 20-year-old artist @blondeymccoy on a series of three outdoor murals in downtown Manhattan. The murals are McCoy’s interpretation of a Christmas eve party, the idea of charity and the spirit of family. His third mural, pictured here, is the most personal. The image depicts McCoy’s grandparents and father in London’s Trafalgar Square in the Seventies. “My work often features lots of sentimental objects.” #wwdeye
For spring 2018, designers applied bold colors and cartoonish motifs on everything from sneakers and belts to key chains. See all the top men’s accessories trends on WWD.com. #wwdtrends (📷: George Chinsee; Prop Styling by @rnasti; Market Editor: @luiscampuzano)
The @dior-sponsored @guggenheim international gala pre-party has a history of drawing cool-girl musical acts to serenade the crowd –– and last night was no exception. @haimtheband performed songs both new and old, and lured a star-studded audience with the likes of Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Mamoudou Athie and more. #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)
In a partnership between the @metopera and the @englishnationalopera, “Marnie” was born. The opera, with costumes sponsored by @mrporterlive, is an adaptation of the 1961 thriller by Winston Graham. Arianne Phillips, who created the costumes, is no rookie: She’s styled Madonna for her tours and created costumes for a myriad of films in the past. Read WWD’s interview with Phillips, where she talks about her inspiration for the opera’s costumes on WWD.com #wwdfashion
@barneysnyc took a different approach to their holiday windows this year. Instead of Christmas decor, Barneys tapped @thehaasbrothers to tell a story of positivity, gratitude and inclusivity via heartwarming silliness and humor. “It’s about kids and it’s about coming together and being family and loving each other,” said Simon Haas. #wwdfashion (📷: @joshuascottphoto)
Beauty influencer @kandeejohnson makes her foray into hair care with a collaboration with @ogx_beauty — making it the first time that OGX has teamed up for a product creation. The collab includes shampoos and conditioners in three scents. At 39 and a mom, Johnson is a different profile than the emerging social media stars, but is considered one of the pioneers of the digital beauty influencer world. Read WWD’s interview with her on wwd.com, including the strangest beauty product she’s ever tried #wwdbeauty


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Oilseeds. World Markets and Trade. July 2016 - USDA July 12, 2016
U.S. Export Prospects Brighten on Tightening Soybean Supplies in South America
Prospects for U.S. soybean exports have brightened considerably since January as strong global demand, accompanied by shortfalls in projected South American production, is expected to boost both the quantity and value of U.S. exports. The 2015/16 U.S. export forecast is raised nearly 1.0 million tons this month, on top of last month's 500,000-ton-rise, and currently stands at 48.9 million. In addition, the export forecast for 2016/17 is raised to a record 52.3 million, 4 percent above the previous record set in 2014/15. The higher U.S. export forecast follows a relatively disappointing period in the export season where abundant South American supplies and a strong dollar led buyers away from the United States. Additionally, global soybean prices fell below $9.0 a bushel as stocks continued to build in the United States.
While stocks were growing in the United States, strong export demand and a rebound in Argentina crush have helped drive South American supplies lower. Weather issues have contributed to the current lower supply situation as dry conditions cut yields in parts of Brazil and flooding rains led to production and quality losses in Argentina. Accordingly, South American supplies in May are estimated to be 15.0 million tons below year-ago levels, prompting the significant price rises observed since early March and a forecast of slowing South American exports in the third quarter of 2016. In addition, a strengthening in both the Real and Peso since January has improved the competitiveness of U.S. soybeans.
The result has been a growing interest in purchasing U.S. soybeans as illustrated by the larger sales volumes reported in recent weeks. This is expected to carry over into 2016/17, propelling exports higher and lowering U.S. ending stocks. With prices expected to remain above those observed in 2015, producer returns are expected to improve.
Global oilseed production is forecast higher this month. Larger soybean crop projections for the United States and Canada more than offset a reduction for Ukraine. A reduced rapeseed production forecast in the European Union is more than offset by gains in Canada and Russia. Global sunflowerseed production is raised this month on larger projections for the European Union and Moldova. The peanut production forecast is raised on gains in the United States and Brazil. Global cottonseed production is reduced as lower crop projections for India, Pakistan, and the European Union more than offset gains in Australia and the United States.
Soybean imports are largely unchanged this month. Exports are projected to grow in line with larger exportable supplies in the United States and Canada more than offsetting reduced shipments from Ukraine. Global stocks are raised this month. The U.S. season-average farm price is unchanged at $9.50 per bushel.
Global soybean production is reduced this month on lower harvest estimates for Brazil and India. Imports are reduced on a weaker pace of trade in Egypt, Vietnam, and the United States. Exports are lower on reduced shipments from Brazil that more than offset gains in the United States. Global stocks are reduced this month. The U.S. season-average farm price is unchanged at $9.05 per bushel.
U.S. export bids in June, FOB Gulf, averaged $444/ton, up $39 from last month, and the highest level in nearly 2 years.
As of the week ending June 30, U.S. 2015/16 soybean export commitments (outstanding sales plus accumulated exports) to China totaled 27.5 million tons compared with 29.9 million a year ago. Total commitments to the world are 51.3 million tons, compared with 50.5 million for the same period last year.
2016/17 TRADE OUTLOOK CHANGES
- Soybean exports are raised 544,000 tons to 52.3 million following a larger production forecast and tightening South American exportable supplies.
- Soybean meal exports are increased 182,000 tons to 11.1 million on growing crush projections and strong global protein meal demand.
- Brazil soybean oil exports are raised 113,000 tons to 1.3 million in response to higher crush and continued strong global demand for vegetable oil.
- Rapeseed exports are up 250,000 tons to 8.8 million following the larger production forecast.
- Soybean meal imports are reduced 150,000 tons to 850,000, on trend with the current marketing year forecast.
- Soybean exports are raised 200,000 tons to 4.2 million on a larger production forecast.
- Peanut imports are boosted 130,000 tons to 400,000 reflecting rapidly growing demand for food and crush-quality peanuts.
- Palm oil imports are reduced 100,000 tons to 5.7 million following growing demand for premium oils.
- Sunflower oil imports are raised 100,000 tons to 650,000 reflecting current marketing year developments and growing demand for premium oils.
- European Union
- Rapeseed imports are boosted 200,000 tons to 2.5 million following a decline in forecast domestic production.
- Sunflowerseed meal and oil are raised 100,000 tons each to 3.8 and 1.3 million, respectively, following reduced rapeseed crush and lower meal and oil output.
- Palm oil imports almost double to 400,000 tons reflecting the very strong demand for less expensive vegetable oils.
- Soybean and sunflowerseed oil imports are lowered 100,000 and 200,000 tons, respectively, to 400,000 tons for each oil.
- Pakistan rapeseed imports are raised 200,000 tons to 800,000 on growing domestic crush and strong demand for meal and oil.
- Ukraine soybean exports are reduced 200,000 tons to 2.6 million following a lower production forecast.
- United Arab Emirates
- Rapeseed imports are down 100,000 tons to 600,000 following current marketing year developments.
- Rapeseed oil exports are cut 100,000 tons to 250,000 on lower crush projections.
- Vietnam soybean meal exports are raised 280,000 tons to 300,000, in line with the current marketing year.
2015/16 TRADE CHANGES – majority based on pace of trade to date
- Soybean imports are reduced 136,000 tons to 680,000.
- Soybean exports surge 953,000 tons to 48.9 million.
- Peanut exports are boosted 91,000 tons to 635,000.
- Argentina peanut exports are raised 100,000 tons to 875,000 reflecting growing demand in China and the European Union.
- Australia rapeseed exports are reduced 100,000 tons to 2.3 million.
- Soybean exports are reduced 1.6 million tons to 57.2 million following a lower production forecast.
- Soybean meal exports are boosted 200,000 tons to 15.8 million.
- Soybean oil exports are up 110,000 tons to 1.5 million.
- Rapeseed exports surge 700,000 tons to 10.0 million.
- Soybean meal imports are reduced 160,000 tons to 815,000.
- Rapeseed imports are raised 100,000 tons to 4.3 million.
- Peanut imports are boosted 100,000 tons to 380,000.
- Palm oil imports are down 100,000 tons to 5.5 million, while sunflower oil is raised 100,000 tons to 650,000.
- Soybean imports are cut 200,000 tons to 1.8 million, while soybean meal imports grow 200,000 tons to 1.8 million.
- Soybean oil imports are raised 100,000 tons to 650,000.
- European Union rapeseed imports are boosted 300,000 tons to 3.3 million.
- India peanut exports are up 150,000 tons to 680,000.
- Indonesia palm oil exports are raised 500,000 tons to 25.0 million.
- Iran palm oil imports double to 400,000 tons, while soybean oil imports are reduced 100,000 tons to 350,000.
- Soybean meal imports are lowered 175,000 tons to 1.4 million.
- Palm oil imports surge 400,000 tons to 1.0 million.
- Pakistan rapeseed imports are raised 200,000 tons to 850,000.
- Russia sunflowerseed meal exports are down 200,000 tons to 1.3 million on stronger domestic protein meal demand.
- Turkey sunflowerseed oil imports are reduced 100,000 tons to 780,000.
- United Arab Emirates rapeseed imports are down 100,000 tons to 625,000.
- Soybean imports are reduced 200,000 tons to 1.4 million, while soybean meal imports are raised 150,000 tons to 4.8 million tons.
- Soybean meal exports are boosted 280,000 tons to 300,000 following an update to historical export data based on Vietnam's customs data.


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A clear case for electronic payments
Dec 05, 2013 Dave King
North American nations, as well as those in Europe and Asia, are beginning to become more aggressive with electronic payments, especially as the trend has been found to streamline accounting. Organizations in the public and private sectors have revolutionized the ways in which accounts payable and receivable operate, while security remains a major pressure point.
The advantages of this technology are sometimes clearest when evaluating their worth on a smaller scale, such as within emerging markets. CNN Money recently reported that the Mexican government has already saved $1 billion since switching many payment systems to digital environments, and that this transition has had a profound and immediate impact on the general economic environment in the nation.
According to the news provider, the choice to switch to electronic payment systems in Mexico has helped to establish a more adequate digital infrastructure which is expected to stimulate modernized banking and financial services growth. The source explained that the Gates Foundation's Better Than Cash Alliance conducted a study and released the findings that revealed that the Mexican government is saving $1.27 billion annually.
This is not the first time a government has improved its financial efficiency through the use of technology, as officials in Washington have been aggressively deploying new digital offerings and letting go of clandestine processes. CNN Money added that roughly one-quarter of Mexican adults currently have a bank account, and electronic payments can help to decrease the under and unbanked populations.
In the United States, electronic payments have helped to increase interest in traditional financial services among the large populations of unbanked and underbanked households. Businesses in North America and abroad will likely continue to experience positive outcomes following more widespread adoption and deployment of electronic payments capabilities.


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Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (2013)
Developer: Game Freak
Publishers: Nintendo, The Pokémon Company
With the recent success of GTA V, a sizable chunk of the gaming community has been pacified (for now). So what then does the RPG gamer have to look forward to in the immediate future? Pokémon X and Pokémon Y are certainly stirring up a lot of buzz, but unfortunately not for the right reasons.
It’s a given that in the world of video games information on upcoming titles gets leaked left, right and centre, and more often than not the fallout from these leaks is inconsequential. However, in a game like Pokémon where a major part of the enjoyment lies in the mystery and the discovery, leaked info could potentially hinder the success of the game and ruin the experience for the player. I am of course referring to the recent content leak by Instagram user ‘kosthedin’.
Kosthedin managed to get a copy of the game over a week before its scheduled release date and proceeded to leak screenshot after screenshot. When Nintendo became aware of this, well…to say it “Rustled their jimmies” would be an understatement. The company flew out a representative to the unnamed store that sold the copy in question, and while the details of this visit are a mystery, the leaked information has since been pulled from kosthedin’s Instagram account (he likely received a cease and desist order), and the copy has been returned to the store. It’s too little too late however, the damage has been done, and as any celebrity that has gotten a carried away with a video camera will tell you, trying to get something off the internet once it’s up is a losing battle. Still, you have to commend the software giant for their prompt response and effective damage control.
The games will have a simultaneous worldwide release, something which has never been done in any of the previous generations of the franchise. This is to ensure that in this instalment of the series, no players will have an advantage by way of a head start. With this in mind, it’s understandable that Nintendo were angry to learn that someone out there was potentially jeopardizing that effort. Controversy aside, the game is shaping up to be a big success, with sales figures expected to exceed that of Diamond and Pearl versions.
The games will be released for the 3DS on October 12th.


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ITB China, the marketplace for China’s travel industry, is thrilled to announce its collaboration with Trip.com Group, the leading global travel service provider for this year’s highly anticipated event, taking place from 12 – 14 September 2023 in Shanghai.
Ctrip platform, owned by leading travel service provider Trip.com Group, recently released their Chinese mainland outbound and domestic Dragon Boat Festival trends, with outbound booking for the festival increasing more than 12 times year-over-year.
Leading travel service provider Trip.com Group reveals its Chinese mainland May Day travel trends, with strong domestic and international booking growth.
Trip.com has launched TripGen, a chatbot designed to provide travellers with live assistance through cutting-edge AI technology. Trip.com implemented this technology to enable users to receive tailored travel routes, itineraries and travel booking advice in real time on the Trip.com platform.
2022 saw Trip.com Group help drive the long-awaited recovery of the embattled global travel and tourism sector as it revived from the pandemic. The company delivered resilient results in the third quarter of the past year, despite the continued disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 resurgence in China.


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The Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria — which are part of the $2 billion One Beverly Hills development — secured a $500 million loan.
Brentwood-based Rexford Industrial Realty Inc. has purchased eight industrial buildings for a total of $194.4 million.
Skip Schweiss will watch over the company’s fast-paced growth.
A three-building office portfolio in downtown Pasadena known as 2 N Lake has sold for $80 million.
Long Beach-based aerospace company Virgin Orbit plans to go public in a merger with Boca Raton, Fla.-based NextGen Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company.
Santa Monica-based mental wellness company Headspace Inc. will merge with San Francisco-based Ginger.io Inc., an on-demand mental health support platform.
Honest Co. Inc.’s shares hovered around $10 two weeks after the Playa Vista-based maker of nontoxic and eco-friendly personal and household products posted second-quarter earnings and revenue that fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Guess Inc. reported mixed financial results for the second quarter of its fiscal 2022 that ended July 31, which dampened the company’s share price 5% in after-hours trading on Aug. 25.
After its successful debut on the Nasdaq in May, Long Beach-based HydraFacial Co. was renamed Beauty Health Co.
Southern California Edison executives were generally pleased with the state’s decision in early August to allow the utility to tap ratepayers to raise $6.9 billion in revenue this year, even though that was $730 million short of what Edison requested.
In an unprecedented move, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has issued notices to two competing contract bidding teams to proceed on design and other preliminary work for a rail transit project through the Sepulveda Pass.
Sales of industrial properties in Compton and Lynwood set price records for the area, according to Matthews Real Estate Investment Services.
LAZ Parking has signed an office lease in downtown with landlord 1200 Wilshire to consolidate its Los Angeles operations.
CVS Pharmacy Inc. has signed a lease for a new retail space near the Staples Center in downtown.
The Los Angeles Business Journal is, once again, pleased to unveil our annual Wealthiest Angelenos special edition.
This year’s list features 16 billionaires with ties to the financial sector: “It’s a classic case of (those with) money making money."
The rich keep getting richer, especially if they’re involved in real estate in Los Angeles.
As pandemic-weary consumers sought relief and distraction, fortunes soared for the entertainers on this year's Wealthiest Angelenos list.
The overall net worth of L.A.’s richest men and women stands at a staggering $250 billion.
Highlights from the the 2021 Wealthiest Angelenos list.
Hollywood-based virtual reality gaming studio ForeVR Games Inc. raised $7 million in additional seed financing to grow its studio and slate of offerings.
Activity on film and TV sets in Los Angeles has returned to pre-pandemic levels, but ongoing concerns over Covid-19 and the surging delta variant are taking a toll on the cost of those productions.
VamosVentures is investing in companies that offer measurable social or environmental benefits as well as financial returns.
On the Go LA is helping restaurants weather the pandemic and serving as a resource for business owners trying to break into the food truck space.
And the Tex-odus continues as infrastructure giant AECOM moves its headquarters out of L.A.
Peak shipping season is in full swing at the San Pedro Bay port complex, signaling that August cargo stats will likely top records set in July.


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» Ssc Paper Leak 2013hearing
Ssc Paper Leak 2013hearing
Ssc Paper Leak 2013hearing on Technology News and Updates AdmaTechnology.com at Wednesday, April 16, 2014
This product is a breakthrough which brings the Go Green campaign. What are these phones? Read short reviews below.
Samsung Blue Earth
Blue Earth phone is a touchscreen mobile phone made by Samsung’s first solar-powered, which first appeared [...]
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut, plans to sell graffiti sheets contains instructions and guidelines that he uses when for the first time landing on the Moon.
Sheets of paper that contains guidelines used Aldrin when Neil Armstrong was driving the Lunar [...]
A leak of GizmoChina mention that Lenovo is preparing a smartphone with an amazing battery.
The products allegedly named Lenovo P770 is a smartphone based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. To accommodate all the needs, Lenovo immerse powerful battery 3500mAh.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag will be released on October 29, 2013, is known thanks to leak news video trailer will premiere on March 3, 2013 yesterday.
Ubisoft stated that the game can already be ordered, intended for users of the Xbox 360, PlayStation [...]
BlackBerry Live event held in Orlando, USA, Tuesday (14/5), BlackBerry announced their new hero on the BlackBerry 10 platform, the BlackBerry Q5.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Wednesday (15/5), according to a recent leak outstanding, the Q5 is a cheap version [...]
Rumors that Samsung will release the Galaxy S4 Dual-SIM version became a reality.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Sunday (28/4), the South Korean manufacturer officially introduced the Galaxy S4 Duos.
Besides being able to be pinned two SIM Card at once, no more [...]
Given the importance to always be vigilant when surfing the internet, here are some practical tips from Microsoft Indonesia.
- Lock your computer and other accounts with strong passwords, as well as a unique four-digit PIN on the mobile phone.
- Do not [...]
Back presents two new features that users are better known Like and Star.
Since the year 2008, the user has to know that the Favorite feature is available and become part of Twitter.
In order to further popularize the feature, Twitter has redesigned [...]
Not long after the presence of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 at Mobile World Congress, is now audible leaks on the presence of its 3G version.
It is verified through a newspaper as reported endgadget.com (12/03), the series Galaxy Note 8.0 3G has entered [...]
If you had to choose between Galaxy S4 or the iPhone 5, which one is your favorite?
This question may arise when someone wants to buy the iPhone 5, but curious to see what the Galaxy S4 and decided to wait for him to be compared directly.
For that, AdmaTechnology tried [...]
The name is usually known as a popular browser, Firefox, is now present as the operating system of a smartphone made by Alcatel.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Monday (2/25), in the event Mobile World Congress 2013 Barcelona, Alcatel introduced a product called [...]


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Airbnb Will Help NYC Track Down Illegal Rentals, And Other Cities Could Be Next
Last week, Airbnb came to an agreement with the city about how to share that data without totally throwing privacy out the window. Airbnb has agreed to share the data in two phases. First, Airbnb will give the city anonymised data for more than 17,000 listings between January 1, 2018, and February 18, 2019.
These involve listings that were listed as “entire units”, “private rooms” and “shared rooms” with a maximum guest occupancy of three or more, for a stay totalling less than 30 consecutive days. The way the city’s short-term rental laws go, it’s illegal to rent out an entire apartment unless it’s to a maximum of two guests, while the owner is present.
New York cracked down even further back in 2016 with a law that prevents advertising rentals that violate the existing law.
Once receiving the data, the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) can then request de-anonymised data for specific listings that are likely to be illegal. In that event, the OSE would receive identifying data like addresses, total days booked, payout information, emails, and phone numbers.
Beyond the effect it could have on hosts in NYC, the agreement is significant in that it could lead to a ripple effect in other cities that have started cracking down on Airbnb. Cities like Paris, Barcelona, and Santa Monica have tough restrictions on Airbnb rentals.
In Japan, nearly 80 per cent of Airbnbs were axed last year in response to new regulations. It’s possible that local governments in these areas might take a gander at the NYC agreement and decide they’d like the same arrangement.
That could have some positive effects—mainly deterring illegal hotels while allowing regulatory breathing room for your Average Joe who earns a few extra bucks off of an empty room. Ideally.
“We have long said that we want to work with the City on an effective regulatory framework and we recognise data sharing is an important part of that,” an Airbnb spokesperson told Gizmodo over email.
“We hope that our compliance with this subpoena—by providing data in line with our shared enforcement priorities against illegal hotel operators—is a first step toward finding such a solution that is consistent with Airbnb’s legal rights and obligations, and allows us to share the kind of actionable data with the level of precision that the City needs.”
In the meantime, it’s probably to double or triple check that the Airbnb you’re staying in is legal. And if all else fails, you could scheme to win the lottery and stay at that apartment-style hotel Airbnb is opening in Rockefeller Plaza. Though, at that point, just get a hotel room.


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Turing Robotics Industries (TRI) has announced a new smartphone dubbed as Turing Phone Cadenza. The US-based company is planning to roll out this device in 2017.
The USP of the Turing Phone Cadenza is almost everything. The smartphone is powered not by one, but two Snapdragon 830 processors, yes it will have dual Snapdragon’s upcoming flagship processor. And the phenomenon of this smartphone doesn’t end here, as [...]


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EMC posted 21 percent sales growth in the second quarter, led by strong midrange storage sales and strength in the company’s RSA security and VMware virtualization divisions.
EMC CEO Joe Tucci said the company is “in a sweet spot of the IT industry,” and said new storage systems introduced last week give the company momentum heading into the second half. There were some weak spots in Tuesday’s earnings report, notably disappointing content management and archiving sales and a forecast that wasn’t quite as robust as Wall Street analysts were hoping for.
EMC’s sales reached $3.12 billion in the quarter, the company’s 16th straight quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth and $50 million more than expected. GAAP net income was up 33 percent to $334.4 million, or 16 cents a share, a penny better than analysts were looking for, according to Thomson Financial.
But full-year sales guidance of $12.7 billion and earnings that “are expected to exceed $0.64” was less than the $12.78 billion and 68-cent consensus estimates.
Systems revenue was up 18 percent, led by strong midrange Clariion sales. Software license and maintenance revenue rose 27 percent, led by RSA and VMware sales. Software and systems comprise 84 percent of EMC’s business. Professional services, systems maintenance and other services grew 18 percent. Security sales were up 21 percent, and VMware revenues soared 89 percent to $298 million. EMC plans to spin off its virtualization unit soon in an IPO.
But the Content Management and Archiving business grew just 5 percent to $174 million. EMC blamed the results partly on customer hesitation because of consolidation in the space (see Google Grabs Postini and E-mail Archiving Spurs Gold Rush). EMC will formally announce its Documentum 6 platform next week.
Also in the content management space, EMC recently acquired Dutch startup X-Hive, which makes an XML database and a component content management system sold mostly to the aerospace and defense industries.
Baird analysts were positive on the earnings report and EMC’s stock, noting that VMware sales were higher than expected and would likely continue to exceed estimates.
EMC shares were off 1 percent Tuesday in midday trading.


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Global timber shortage putting UK housebuilding supply chain under ‘enormous pressure’
Leading voices from the UK roofing industry have warned of faltering availability and rapidly rising costs of basic materials such as roofing batten.
The National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC), Avonside Group (including Avonside Roofing), Marley and SR Timber said global timber shortages have put the UK housebuilding industry’s supply chain under “enormous pressure” and presents a “serious challenge” to the industry as a whole.
The organisations expressed “grave concerns” about “extremely low” available stocks of European softwood (the raw material used to produce UK roofing batten) at a time of sustained high levels of demand from the housebuilding industry as it continues to recover from all the disruption caused by the pandemic.
The shortages are fuelling steep and rapid cost inflation for roofing contractors, forcing them to make a choice about paying the rising cost of materials (knowing they can’t pass on the increase to their customers). They are also running out of materials because the housebuilding supply chain is struggling to hold back the tide of global factors that are far beyond the UK’s control, the organisation added.
Demand from the three biggest global markets of China, America and Russia has contributed to a situation that may take months to stabilise and years to fully recover.
China is the world’s largest importer of softwood and hardwood logs, with half of its supply derived from imports. It has been hit hard by factors such as flooding and the imposition of increasingly strict forest protection measures, which have seen a near hold in domestic logging activities. China has been looking to Europe and other regions for additional supply, following the announcement that Russia is proposing a ban on exports of softwood logs and valuable hardwood logs.
North America is still reeling from the first pandemic lockdown, which saw the closure of half of Canadian and a third of US sawmills. This led to a halt in American and Canadian exports to the world market – and the US timber industry experienced an estimated $1.1bn loss in 2020 because of wildfires, hurricanes and the pandemic. Consequently, imports are at the highest level in 15 years.
Russia is the world’s largest exporter, but its proposed export restrictions are already impacting the global timber market – and especially its relationship with China.
Despite sawmill closures during the first lockdown across Europe, the major producing countries (such as Sweden) maintained their production and in some cases increased it. However, in the space of a few weeks, Europe became the world’s leading exporter of sawn softwood. In Scandinavia and Central Europe, sawn log prices, as well as routing and transport costs, are rising rapidly. Anecdotal feedback from sources within the sector highlights stories of gazumping, with raw material sellers reneging on orders in favour of higher offers. It’s a sellers’ market!
These effects, along with the sharp growth in DIY and garden projects during COVID lockdowns, robust construction recovery, and shipping- and freight-related issues, are all conspiring against a return to plenty of available timber stock.
For roofing contractors, the biggest impacts are on cost and productivity. Delays in supplies of materials such as batten present a real and serious risk to housebuilders’ production schedules, the financial impact of which can be severe. However, the cost of avoiding such delays within the supply chain can itself be significant.
Avonside Group’s CEO Eddie Stanton said: “The price of roofing batten is rising on a monthly basis, already in excess of 50% over the past six months, and supply lead times are getting longer. This is putting enormous pressure on the housebuilding supply chain, especially roofing contractors, in terms of what price increases they can absorb and what they have to pass on.”
The industry’s leading timber batten suppliers are going to great lengths to keep their customers informed about the current stockholding, lead times and pricing.
Reflecting on Marley’s position in respect of its JB Red timber brand, the company’s roof systems director Stuart Nicholson said: “The global/US pressure of increased demand for timber has exacerbated the supply issues caused by the pandemic and Brexit. Therefore, it remains extremely challenging to secure the raw materials needed to produce and supply finished products. Marley has strong relationships and a robust supply chain with more than 60 timber mills. However, even considering this, current demand levels are outstripping supply. This is having a severe knock-on effect on global softwood timber prices, which are constantly increasing.
“Those in the UK supply chain are working hard to secure increased supplies of raw materials and finished products. It is important to work collaboratively, with housebuilders engaging with their suppliers and subcontractors to understand the challenges and to plan ahead.”
SR Timber’s trading director Shaun Revill said: “We’re in the very fortunate position of having our own dedicated sawmill in the Baltics, which means we have our own robust supply chain – but even that has been tested to the limit recently with Brexit and COVID, and we are not insulated from what’s going on globally.
“We have been very proactive and transparent with our customers and given them lots of information to explain the situation regarding stock availability – which currently has a lead time of around ten days – and price movements. This has been well received when you put it into context that the industry hasn’t seen anything like this since World War II.”
James Talman, chief executive of the NFRC, said: “We are currently seeing unprecedented shortages of roofing materials, in particular timber. This is due to a whole host of different reasons, from COVID-19 restrictions to the impact of low US timber supplies. Our data shows that two-thirds of roofing contractors saw material availability deteriorate in the first quarter of the year, and 89 per cent reported price rises. Timber battens were the second-highest material shortage after roof tiles with a third of contractors reporting shortages. Unsurprisingly, this is the top concern for roofing contractors – above COVID and Brexit.
“Whilst our supplier members are doing all they can to alleviate shortages, it will still be some time before we are back to steady levels of supply, and homebuilders therefore need to work collaboratively with roofing contractors to plan ahead, build in lead times, factor in price rises and ensure flexibility in contracts.”
The availability of construction products is likely to get worse before it gets better, according to a recent statement by the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) Product Availability Group.
SR Timber noted that even if sawn wood production is able to meet European demand, thanks to very abundant forest availability, it will take longer than usual to meet orders already taken whilst at the same time rebuilding the minimum stock level in sawmills.
All this means that roofing contractors are having to plan material supply further and further in advance, in the hope that batten suppliers are able to meet forecast volumes. When shortages happen, they are usually last minute and at the expense of production time, with further impacts on costs due to the need for alternative sourcing.
In many cases, the rising batten prices and the additional costs involved in dealing with material shortages will be unsustainable if the burden is not shared, and that can only be bad for UK housing production in the short term.
The NFRC, Avonside Group, Marley and SR Timber all agree that the roofing and housebuilding industries must come together to address these rising costs to ensure that contractors and batten suppliers can afford to buy the materials essential to keep putting roofs on the houses that Britain demands.


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Grand Theft Auto V will not stop selling. Take-Two has announced that GTA 5 sales have now exceeded 140 million units shipped, up from the 135 million number announced in August 2020. You might be losing sight of just how massive this number is based, but those sales figures exceed nearly every console platform ever released – all but the PS2 and DS. That’s absurd, friends.
The 140 million figure is current as of December 2020. This total of units ‘shipped’ includes retail discs sent to stores but not yet sold through to players, but in the modern age where the majority of game sales are now digital, that distinction means a lot less than it used to. This makes 2020 GTA 5’s biggest sales year since its launch in 2013.
So if you’re wondering why that GTA 6 release date still seems so far away, there really isn’t much incentive for Rockstar or Take-Two to pump out a sequel when the existing game is continuing to sell better than the vast majority of new release videogames.


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Atomic London fuses TV, print and digital for Cancer Research UK campaign
The new campaign asks people to consider leaving a gift to the charity in their will, focussing on the power that a simple signature can have.
Cancer Research UK’s new campaign asks people to consider leaving a gift to the charity in their will, focussing on the power that a simple signature can have. Created by independent creative agency Atomic London, it is a fully integrated campaign that combines TV, print and digital ads.
The TV part of the campaign, which has been shot in a documentary style, includes real scientists and cancer survivors, as well as the charity’s research lab at Imperial College London. It aims to illustrate the real benefits of leaving a gift in your will and builds on the ‘Write an End to Cancer idea that the agency put together for Cancer Research UK last year.
As well as print advertisements in national newspapers, the campaign will also feature digital banner ads and Facebook promotion, and a direct marketing push early next year.
Holly Eggleston, Senior Legacy Marketing Manager at Cancer Research UK said: “Atomic has created a highly emotive and response-driving ad, showing people the possibilities that leaving a gift in their will can lead to – breakthroughs in research, better treatment and ultimately ensuring that future generations won’t fear cancer the way we do.”
Q&A with executive creator director, Atomic London
To find out more about the campaign, we spoke with the founding partner and executive creative director at Atomic London, Guy Bradbury.
“With this campaign we wanted to inspire people to think about the power of their own signature – showing how the simple act of leaving a gift can have real, authentic and lasting benefits for generations to come.”
Why does the campaign use a mixture of print, digital and TV ads?
Quite simply Cancer Research UK wants to reach as many people from as many different walks of life as possible, communicating the message that a simple signature can save lives. People consume a variety of different media throughout the average day, so by using print, digital and TV ads we’re able to reach them multiple times with a consistent message.
Is the approach towards each different type of ad different?
Again, we’ve gone for a consistent approach in our advertising – cancer is something that can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or social standing, so there is no need to tailor the ad for specific audiences. That said, a static poster is a very different medium to a TV ad, so there are slight changes to elicit the emotional response we’re looking for from the audience.
What is the main aim of the digital ads?
Like the TV and print ads, the digital executions demonstrate the huge potential of leaving a gift in your will, building on the ‘Write an End to Cancer’ concept that Atomic created for Cancer Research UK last year.


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The first prototype version of Tesla Motors’ Gen3 car, the affordable mass market electric car, should be shown to the public in the first quarter 2015, according to Elon Musk.
Tesla Motors’ long-term plan is to develop an affordable mass market electric car with a target price of $35,000 US, and manufactured in volumes around 200,000 a year. Speaking at an event in Germany this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the “first prototype” would be available in 12-18 months.
The event was a public meeting connected with this weeks announcement of Tesla’s focus on winning big in Germany. While answering questions, Musk largely talked about the announcements made earlier this week, and spent a few minutes talking about the Gen3 Tesla. The name of that car has not been announced, but many call it the “Model E”. It will be the 3rd generation of Tesla’s automobile efforts, where the Roadster was the first generation, and the Model S and Model X the second generation.
That car will have an electric driving range of about 200 miles and will not be quite as feature-filled as the Model S. The Model S and Model X target the luxury car class, and have top-notch fit-and-finish and features. The affordable Gen3 Tesla is going to come in at a much lower price, $35,000, than the Model S, whose starting price is around $70,000. Presumably by 2017, when that car is slated to go into production, battery prices will have fallen enough so Tesla can afford to sell the Gen3 car at that price. But, according to Musk, the car will also incorporate other changes to reduce the cost so they can offer it at a lower price. For example, instead of two dashboard screens they might have just one.
As for the timeline, Musk said the first prototype of the Gen3 car would be “about a year from now” or “12-18 months” from now. At the outside that means it will be viewable in the early Spring of 2015.
That timeline, first prototype in early 2015 and first production in early 2017, is compatible with the timeline of the Model X. The first prototypes of that car were first shown in 2012 and the car is slated to go into production in late 2014.
Currently, according to Musk, the Gen3 at is at the drawing stage, meaning that it is just sketches on a drawing board. In a few months they’ll get to the clay model stage.
During the conversation (see video below) Musk also projected Model S sales in Germany would top 1200 a month. That would make Germany their second largest market, behind the US, and on a per-capita basis sales penetration in Germany would be much higher than in the US.
Originally published at TorqueNews: http://www.torquenews.com/1075/teslas-3rd-generation-electric-car-arrive-2015
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Ha Ha Ha, They’re Laughing Back To The Bank: Jay-Z, Diddy & Kanye West Tops 2011 Forbes Hip-Hop List
Born and raised in the Marcy Projects section of Brooklyn, NY, platinum-selling rapper Shawn Corey Carter aka Jay-Z turned his street hustle into a multi-million dollar business. Some of his investments are Roc Nation Entertainment Company, Rocawear clothing, Carol’s Daughter beauty products, and the New Jersey Net. Jay-Z is the reigning rapper of New York City, as well as one of the most successful and wealthiest artists in music. Throughout his career which expands over 15 years, Jay-Z sold over 50 million albums worldwide and won 13 Grammy Award. Jay-Z is claiming his fourth Cash Kings crown in five years on Forbes Hip Hop List. He’s # 1 again, Jay-Z earned $37 million.
Music now accounts for less than 20% of earnings for the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy, thanks to big stakes in clothing lines Sean John and Enyce,record label Bad Boy and marketing firm Blue Flame. But it’s his Ciroc vodka deal that led FORBES to estimate his net worth at $475 million this winter. Diddy is #2, he earned $35 million.
The self-proclaimed Louis Vuitton Don returns to the top three for the first time since 2009. His new album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, hit stores in November, earned critical raves and quickly went platinum. Kanye is #4, he earned $16 million.
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NEXT PAGE: SEE WHAT OTHER RAPPERS MADE TGHE FORBES HIP-HOP LIST & SEE HOW MUCH THEY MADE
4. Lil Wayne (tie) – $15 million
4. Birdman (tie) – $15 million
6. Eminem (tie) – $14 million
6. Dr. Dre (tie) – $14 million
6. Snoop Dogg (tie) – $14 million
9. Akon – $13 million
10. Ludacris – $12 million
11. Wiz Khalifa (tie) – $11 million
11. Drake (tie) – $11 million
13. Pharrell Williams – $10 million
14. Timbaland – $7 million
15. Swizz Beatz (tie) – $6.5 million
15. Nicki Minaj (tie) – $6.5 million
17. Rick Ross (tie) – $6 million
17. 50 Cent (tie) – $6 million
17. Pitbull (tie) – $6 million
20. T-Pain (tie) – $5 million
20. B.o.B (tie) – $5 million


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The influential annual Initial Quality Survey of U.S. auto manufacturers by J.D. Power & Associates is out this afternoon, and it’s got some crisp verdicts for specific brands: Ford is stunningly in the dog house, while Toyota has drawn some relief.
Ford swooned to 23rd place in the 2011 rankings of brands, as graded by consumers for quality issues within three months of ownership, from a heady 5th-place finish last year. Interestingly, the main culprits in Ford’s fall were two technology sub-brands that it has been promoting vigorously over the last year: Sync and EcoBoost.[more]
Sync, Ford’s in-car connected infotainment system, had helped the automaker to a lead in technology and consumer perceptions — as the automaker touted this week to journalists — in the increasingly crucial arena of in-car connectivity.
“But they’ve tried to do too much, too quickly” with Sync and the complementary MyFord Touch systems, leaving many consumers confused and frustrated about how to operate them, Raffi Festekjian, Power’s director of automotive research, told brandchannel. Ford executives are aware of the problems and insist they’re on their way to fixing them.
EcoBoost is Ford’s program to squeeze better mileage and power out of four- and six-cylinder engines by using direct injection and turbocharging, and the company has been boasting of the popularity of EcoBoost powertrains with Ford purchasers – even those buying F-150 pickup trucks. But the engines are among new ones in the industry that, according to Power, lead to the engine or transmission “hesitating” when accelerating or changing gears.
The non-EcoBoost engine in the new Ford Fiesta also is a source of such problems, Power said. And Festekjian said that General Motors’ engines in the new Chevrolet Cruze and Buick Regal displayed similar problems.
Meanwhile, Toyota recovered from its woeful 21st-place rating for 2010, which seemed almost entirely related to the anxiety of owners about the brand’s safety-recall issues in 2010. In this IQS, Toyota placed 7th – and the company’s Lexus luxury brand placed 1st.
Another boon for Toyota, perhaps ironically, was that it lacked major new-vehicle launches last year. Overall, for the industry, new-vehicle launches have been a quality problem lately, Power said, compared with quality realities and perceptions in existing models that haven’t changed much from 2010. That benefited Toyota specifically.
“Corolla and Camry are their two best-selling models by far, and they improved [significantly in the IQS] over last year,” Festekjian said. “They weren’t launch vehicles, and that really helped.”


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Last May, Epic Games was planning to avoid Apple’s and Google’s app retailer guidelines and in the end sue them in instances that might reshape the complete app financial system and have profound ripple effects on antitrust investigations round the world.
Epic’s chief working officer, Daniel Vogel, despatched different executives an e-mail elevating a priority: Epic should persuade Apple and Google to provide in to its calls for for looser guidelines, he wrote, “without us looking like the baddies.”
Apple and Google, Mr. Vogel warned, “will treat this as an existential threat.” To put together, Epic shaped a public relations and advertising plan to get the public behind its marketing campaign against the tech giants.
Apple seized on that plan in a federal courtroom in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, the second day of what is predicted to be a three-week trial stemming from Epic’s claims that Apple depends on its management of its App Store to unfairly squeeze cash out of different corporations.
Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers of California’s Northern District, who will resolve the case, additionally requested Epic’s chief govt, Tim Sweeney, a sequence of pointed questions on its potential penalties. She requested whether or not he had any understanding of the economics of different varieties of apps, together with meals, maps, GPS, climate, relationship or on the spot messaging.
“So you don’t have any idea how what you are asking for would impact any of the developers who engage in those other categories of apps, is that right?” the decide requested.
“I personally do not,” Mr. Sweeney mentioned, in his second day on the witness stand.
Apple’s attorneys argued that Epic had attacked App Store charges to shore up a slowing enterprise. Gross income on Fortnite, Epic’s flagship online game, shrank in the final three quarters of 2019 in contrast with 2018, based on an Epic presentation to its board of administrators about its plan to struggle Apple. The presentation was disclosed in courtroom on Tuesday, together with the govt’s emails.
Under questioning from Apple’s attorneys, Mr. Sweeney mentioned Epic’s personal sport retailer was not anticipated to show a revenue till not less than 2024.
Epic’s attorneys mentioned the lawsuit was not nearly Epic and Fortnite however about equity for all apps that must use Apple’s App Store to succeed in shoppers.
“Our contention in this case is that all apps are at issue,” mentioned Katherine Forrest, a lawyer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Epic just isn’t asking for a payout if it wins the trial; it’s searching for aid in the type of adjustments to App Store guidelines. Epic has requested Apple to permit app builders to make use of different strategies to gather funds and open their very own app shops inside their apps.
Apple has countered that these calls for would elevate a world of new points, together with making iPhones much less safe.
On Tuesday afternoon, Benjamin Simon, founder of Yoga Buddhi, which makes the Down Dog Yoga app, testified about his firm’s issues with Apple’s insurance policies. Mr. Simon mentioned that he needed to cost extra for subscriptions on the App Store to make up for the 30 % price that Apple charged him, and that Apple’s guidelines prevented him from selling inside his app a less expensive worth that’s out there on the net.
Mr. Simon mentioned Apple warned app builders against talking out about its insurance policies in tips for getting their apps accepted. “‘If you run to the press and trash us, it never helps,’” he mentioned. “That was in the guidelines.”


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DAET, Camarines Norte, May 17 (PIA) - The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) here has conducted trainings on pineapple, pili, and coconut products processing and enhancement on product packaging and labelling.
Marilou J. Belgado, science research specialist said that the training on pineapple, pili and coconut products benefited around 50 students and teachers of Capalonga College.
The three-day training was composed of lecture and demonstration in which participants were able to produce pineapple wine, pili tart, coconut vinegar and coconut wine.
Belgado said their newly-acquired skill in production would earn for them additional income.
The other training, the enhancement on product packaging and labelling was requested by the Department of Agrarian Reform Camarines Norte Provincial Office in order to assist the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) in Camarines Norte.
At least 36 farm workers belonging to at least seven ARBOs and DAR personnel took part in the two-day training.
She said that five ARBOs are engaged in food processing and cosmetic products wherein line agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have previously provided skills training.
It will enable them to meet a precondition under the Food and Drug Administration License to Operate (FDA LTO) which requires appropriate packaging and label designs for products, she said.
Belgado said that among the topics she discussed during the training were Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP), labelling and its objective and importance, label information, mandatory requirement areas in label and additional requirements in the label.
The products which were labelled by the participants are instant salabat, ginger brew, soap and lotion with citronella, vinegar, rice coffee, smoked fish or tinapa.
In another vein, she announced that the DOST has a program named One Expert, an interactive web-based nationwide pool of science and technology experts.
One Expert seeks to provide technical advise and consultancy services to Filipino anywhere in the country. It aims to improve access between experts and people living outside of major urban centers where most research and technical institutions are located.
But for those areas without internet access, the DOST has its STARBOOKS or Science and Technology Academic and Research Based Openly Operated Kiosk System which serves the information access portals.
In the province the DOST has already installed STARBOOKS in Labo Science High School, Mabini Colleges, and in four campuses of Camarines Norte State College,.
Belgado urge stakeholders like local government units, schools, non-government organizations to become partners in the setting-up of the STARBOOKS in their locality.
All this was discussed during a recent airing of Talakayan sa PIA over DWCN-Radyo ng Bayan. (EAD/RBM-PIA5/Camarines Norte)


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The administration wants full disclosure on healthcare prices. What other industry hides their costs? It surreal. It’s ridiculous. But not if that is how you make your money, which is by fooling people and then gouging them. Here is what the critics say:
But critics say it wasn’t clear whether enough consumers would use price information to seek out lower-cost treatment and bend the cost curve. And the proposals would likely be met with stiff industry opposition, including lawsuits challenging the White House’s authority to mandate cost disclosures.
Tom Nickels, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, has said a broad proposal requiring price disclosure wouldn’t give consumers an accurate picture of out-of-pocket costs under their insurance plans.
What? Consumers use price information EVERYDAY to seek better costs. It’s called Amazon. And why won’t it give an accurate picture? Because the industry succeeds by keeping the customers ignorant.
It’s time to change all that.


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For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 16, 2016
LONDON, ON – CoreSolutions began distributing their FileMaker newsletters in January of 1996. Over the past 20 years, the newsletter has been distributed to thousands of FileMaker enthusiasts and small business owners. The newsletter has had numerous redesigns over that time span, but the team at CoreSolutions are very excited about the 2016 rendition.
The newsletter has been the driving medium for the quality FileMaker content that the developers at CoreSolutions produce.
“The new look newsletter is very important for us because we are known and have been known as a market leader for FileMaker development and our fans and clients have come to expect great resources. The content will remain as informative and engaging as ever – however now, there is a new look that will benefit customer experience”, states Kyle Mayer, Marketing Manager.
CoreSolutions Software also publishes Core Web and Core Business newsletters and will be redesigning them as well.
“All of our followers and fans can expect the redesigned Core Web and Core Business newsletters to be released in the upcoming months. Here at CoreSolutions, we are all about increasing customer satisfaction and driving engagement. And we felt giving our readers something fresh to look at was a worthwhile undertaking”, says Steve Malott, Marketing Associate.
CoreSolutions has been publishing FileMaker content for over 20 years and plans to continue into the foreseeable future. If you have any questions for the team at CoreSolutions, their contact information is listed below.
If you are looking to join the Core FileMaker, Core Web or Core Business communities, be sure to Subscribe Here.
Phone: (800) 650-8882
Facebook: CoreSolutions Software Inc.
LinkedIn: CoreSolutions Software Inc.


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- Articles tagged "nas server"
Western Digital showed off their updated WD 2go personal cloud software as the company merged its previous offerings into this current app package which is now free! We show you how a personal cloud is administered with their WD My Book Live storage products.
- StarHub confirms DDoS attacks affected its home broadband service (Updated)
- Samsung refutes rumors of an earlier release for the Galaxy S8
- OCBC now lets you pay anyone using Apple’s Siri and iMessage
- The Apple Watch Nike+ will go on sale this Friday, October 28
- The new Apple TV app puts all your movies and TV serials in one place
- Apple announces new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro featuring all-new Touch Bar
- Apple to introduce a 5-inch iPhone model next year?
- Nikon KeyMission 360 camera lands on our shores alongside KeyMission 170 and 80


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- IBEX onboarded 85 retailers to the Bitcoin Lightning Community in Miami, Florida.
- The onboarding follows a profitable large-scale service provider trial IBEX performed this April at Bitcoin 2022.
- The corporate has deployed a devoted customer support group to Miami which can function a mannequin transferring ahead.
IBEX, an infrastructure supplier for Bitcoin’s Lightning Community, has onboarded 85 new companies to the community enabling them to simply accept bitcoin as cost by way of their point-of-sale (POS) programs, per a launch despatched to Bitcoin Journal.
Beforehand, in the course of the month of April, IBEX launched a pilot amid Bitcoin 2022 in Miami during which the corporate performed a large-scale pilot program for retailers which allowed members to facilitate over 2 BTC value of transactions.
For IBEX, it made sense to launch the pilot on the largest Bitcoin occasion on the earth, whereas in Miami, as a result of the corporate sees Miami as inextricably linked to Bitcoin.
“Miami and Bitcoin have been made for one another, so we’re delighted however not stunned at Miami’s urge for food for our providers,” stated Ry Sterling, VP of North America of IBEX. “Miami is the closest factor Latin America has to a capital metropolis, and with its resident inhabitants from Central and South America, there’s a large pool of potential Bitcoin prospects.”
“Immigrants, particularly these from nations with poor banking infrastructure, are among the many earliest Bitcoin adopters as a result of they will remit cash residence in bitcoin by way of the Lightning Community, rapidly and much more affordably than with conventional cash switch companies,” Sterling continued.
Nonetheless, IBEX doesn’t solely function POS programs on Lightning for its prospects. The corporate additionally presents an enterprise grade utility programming interface (API) which permits enterprise to commerce in any foreign money, wherever on the earth, and all of the enterprise wants is an web connection.
As well as, IBEX presents decrease charges than conventional bank card operations sometimes run, giving an additional incentive to companies.
“With transaction charges at 5% versus 2.5% or extra for bank cards, Bitcoin Lightning lowers prices – financial savings that may then be handed on to prospects, powering a virtuous circle of adoption,” Sterling defined. “What occurs in Miami right now, the entire of the world might be doing within the close to future.


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‘It’s an ill wind, etc’ and along those lines Canon picked up camera sales in 2016 lost by other camera companies due to the Kumamoto earthquake, according to executive vice president and CFO, Toshio Tanaka.
But while delivering Canon’s 2016 financial results, he also had a positive message for the entire industry in predicting that the worst of the decline in camera sales was behind us, at least as far as interchangeable lens models are concerned.
The interchangeable-lens camera market for the full year was down 9 percent, to 11.5 million units. ‘This represents the first time in three years that the market contacted at a single digit rate,’ Mr Tanaka noted – quite a good result in itself, and even better given the impact of Kumamoto.
‘As for our full-year unit sales, in addition to growing sales of new DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, we benefitted from the shortage of parts that impacted our competitors,’ Mr Tanaka candidly conceded. ‘As a result, our unit sales increased 2 percent to 5.67 million units.’
He went on to say that Canon had increased market share in all regions.
‘The interchangeable-lens camera market, from what we saw during last year’s year-end selling season, is projected to shrink by 4 percent to 11 million units, mainly reflecting decelerating contraction in developed countries.
‘We expect out unit sales to decrease about 7 percent to 5.3 million units, representing a steeper decline than the overall market. This reflects a one-off factor resulting from the Kumamoto earthquake.
‘Excluding (the Kumamoto earthquake) the year-on-year decline is slowing down and…we are heading towards bottoming out.’
The magic word for Canon 2017 is ‘mirrorless’: ‘Using mirrorless cameras as a driver, we will work to acquire a new user base. At the same time, for advanced amateurs, we will extend our technological advantage to address users’ desires in terms of AF, video features etc. to promote replacement demand and link this to profitability…’
Compact cameras continue to be a basket case: ‘Last year the market declined by 44 percent to 15 million units due to impact from the shortage of supplies on all manufacturers, including Canon.
‘Against this backdrop, Canon focused energy on expanding sales of G series premium cameras which exceeded those of last year. Overall, however, our unit sales declined 38 percent to 40.4 million yen, due to a significant drop in entry models’
He went on to say that the decline in compact camera sales had a way to go yet: ‘We expect the market to shrink by 13 percent to 13 million units and our unit sales to also shrink by 13 percent to 3.5 million units.
‘As a future outlook, we still feel more time is necessary before the market bottoms out…;’


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Patton's New VoIP CPE Integrate FXS, BRI with UCC and All-IP Communications
Patton Electronics—US manufacturer of UC, cloud, and IoT enabling solutions for carrier, enterprise and industrial networks—is now taking orders for a new set of VoIP CPE designed to satisfy market demand from small-businesses and their service providers for FXS, BRI, and All-IP solutions.
Supporting 4 to 256 SIP sessions (VoIP calls), the new series of SmartNode VoIP Gateways and enterprise session border controllers (eSBC) was developed in response to customer requests for small-business solutions that interconnect traditional digital ISDN and analog POTS trunks, phones and fax systems to modern IP-based business networks and cloud-based service providers.
Purpose built for low-port count applications, the new SmartNode CPE offer many flexible combinations of 2 to 8 telephony ports, including:
“Our SME customers told us exactly what they need,” said Bret Patton, SmartNode Product Manager. “We are addressing those needs with devices that provide exactly and only the interfaces customers require.”
“Offering perfect port configurations combined with well-known software quality, these new SmartNode products deliver truly competitive value for clients making the transition to All-IP,” Mr. Patton said.
Fully Loaded: The new SmartNode models include such state-of-the-art features as SRTP/TLS security, USB cellular modem support, dual software image, PSTN redundancy and fail-over, generic routing encapsulation (GRE tunneling), and border gateway protocol (BGP).
A built-in BroadSoft PacketSmart Probe for VoIP network assessment and monitoring is also available as a licensed feature.
The new products will be generally available in August 2016.
Patton will brief global channel partners on the new SmartNode CPE during two webinars on 6 July.
In related news, last week Patton announced the new CopperLink™ 1101 PoE Ethernet Extender kits that re-purpose twisted-pair and coaxial circuits to deliver Ethernet plus POE to IoT gateways, IP access points, phones, cameras, digital signs, PLCs, and more.
Glendon Flowers, +1 301-975-1000
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SFL – Third-Quarter 2017 Financial Information19.10.2017 16:30 | Pressemelding
Regulatory News: SFL (Paris:FLY): Rental income: €147.8 million, up 3.3% like-for-like Consolidated revenue by business segment (€000’s) 2017 (9 months) 2016 (9 months)
AMRA and BioTelemetry Research Raise the Standard for Medical Imaging in NASH/NAFLD Clinical Trials19.10.2017 16:04 | Pressemelding
AMRA, the international leader in body composition analysis, and BioTelemetry Research (“BTR”), a leading global imaging and cardiac core lab, announced today the formation of an exclusive alliance for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) clinical trials. This first-to-market partnership will advance imaging science and benefit clinical trial sponsors in several musculoskeletal and metabolic therapeutic areas. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171019006110/en/ In clinical studies, muscle and fat fractions have traditionally been measured by scanning individual organs such as the liver, or particular body regions such as the abdomen. Commonly, researchers would prefer to scan the entire body in order to learn exactly where study participants are losing or gaining mu
AGCO Announces a New Data Connection with The Climate Corporation’s Climate FieldViewTM Digital Agriculture Platform19.10.2017 14:30 | Pressemelding
AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO), a world-leading manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, announced today a new digital partnership with The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON), that will provide AGCO customers the option to connect with The Climate Corporation’s Climate FieldView™ platform. AGCO’s partnership with The Climate Corporation is a product of Fuse and its open approach to agriculture, which focuses on helping customers optimize their farms through seamless technology integration and connectivity. “AGCO is excited to work with The Climate Corporation to give our customers yet another choice for Precision Ag solutions,” says Chris Rhodes, director Fuse Business Development. “The Climate FieldView platform is the world’s most broadly connected and adopted farm insight and visualization platform, and AGCO is pleased to be creating a tigh
Arrive Safely: Head to Tirendo and Equip Yourself Properly for Your First Winter19.10.2017 14:25 | Pressemelding
The days are getting shorter, and the thermometer is dropping. Especially for new drivers looking forward to their first winter behind the wheel, the sudden onset of snowy and icy roads can be a real challenge. Even more important, therefore, to make sure that you have the appropriate tyres for wintry driving conditions. Tirendo shares some tips on what this involves. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171019005888/en/ Head to Tirendo and equip yourself properly for your first winter - Photo source: ENZO In winter weather above all, the correct tread depth is crucial for safe driving. The legal minimum throughout Europe is 1.6 mm, however experts recommend at least 4 mm in snowy and icy conditions to ensure sufficient grip. To measure your tyre’s tread depth, simply take a two euro coin:
EURid Reveals the Nominees for The 2017 .eu Web Awards19.10.2017 13:48 | Pressemelding
EURid, the .eu and .ею registry, has released the nominees for its .eu Web Awards. The .eu Web Awards is an online competition, launched in 2014, where .eu and .ею websites can be nominated for a chance to win a prestigious award to be presented at a stunning ceremony in Brussels. “As with every iteration of the .eu Web Awards, we are so pleased and humbled to award our domain name holders’ online efforts. We are so grateful to have them in our community and want to show them the support they deserve”, commented Giovanni Seppia, EURid’s External Relations Manager. EURid is pleased to unveil this year’s final nominees, which represent the vast diversity and creativity that embodies Europe: The Leaders An established national business that is currently in operation and possesses multiple years of industry experience.
Andersen Tax Launches in Canada19.10.2017 13:30 | Pressemelding
Andersen Global is proud to announce the launch of the Andersen name in Canada as SdM Chartered Professional Accountants Inc. formally adopts the name Andersen Tax. SdM, a tax firm based in Montreal, Quebec, became a collaborating firm of Andersen Global in June of 2016 and has now formally joined the organization as a member firm under the name Andersen Tax. “We have been working with Simon and the team in Montreal for several years now, and I’m confident that together we will continue finding the best solutions for our clients,” said Global Chairman and CEO of Andersen Tax LLC, Mark Vorsatz. “Our shared name demonstrates the like-mindedness of our partners and the adoption of the Andersen name in Canada further strengthens our growing footprint in the region.” As Andersen Tax, the Canadian team will continue to provide tax, advisory and international tax services with an e
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AQ0818-148 Off-White x Air Jordan 1 "Powder Blue" 2018
in fifa 16 coins ps4
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Jordans 2017 and Virgil Abloh will have yet another strong year utilizing the Air Jordan 1. Recently launched was the "White" edition and now we have the Off-White x Air Jordan 1 "Powder Blue" coming in May. Dressed in a White, Cone, and Dark Powder Blue color scheme. No photos have leaked, but you can expect this Air Jordan 1 to have a UNC-like vibe. New Jordans 2017, After the success of the end of last year, the cooperation between Virgil Abloh and Nike continued in the new year. We have seen VaporMax, AF1, Air Presto and Air Jordan 1 have new joint color appearances. The previous ComplexCon Limited Color AF1 may be released again. Jordan Retro Shoes, With two already in the can, Virgil Abloh is reportedly readying his next Off-White x Air Jordan 1 Retro High collaboration. Following the release of the Off-White x Air Jordan 1 in White, Virgil Abloh will be releasing an upcoming "Powder Blue" colorway this May. This Air Jordan 1 will feature a White, Cone and Dark Powder Blue color combination. At the time of writing images have yet to leak, however they are expected to feature a UNC theme. The inspiration for the colorway will be the school colors of the Universtiy of North Carolina, better known to most as UNC — the college Michael Jordan played for before entering the NBA.


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Openings binge for Wetherspoon
Pubs group JD Wetherspoon is planning its biggest-ever month of new openings at a time when research has shown pub rents soaring at double the rate of inflation in the past year. Wetherspoon is opening 20 pubs in July, with 12 due to start pulling pints on 20 July alone.
Ballymena in Northern Ireland plays host to one of the sites - a first in the province for the cheap-and-cheerful operator. In spearheading expansion there, Wetherspoon is seeking to gain a foothold in a market where pubs are still mainly owned and run by families.
Watford-based Wetherspoon has struggled to find suitable locations in London and the South-East, where competition for the best spots is intense. 'Every time you find a good one, Ask Pizza, Bass or whoever else are always interested,' said a spokesman.
Figures from licensed property specialist Fleurets showed that pub rents soared at double the rate of inflation in the past year, with landlords of London High Street bars facing annual bills averaging more than £130,000. Fleurets said town centre premises were hardest hit by rent rises. Even outside the capital, the average bar lease is more than £100,000. Established pubs off High Streets have an easier ride, with landlords paying an average of £60,000 in London and £36,000 in the provinces.
Brewers and pub companies wanting to open a so-called 'superpub' in London's main High Streets will expect to pay around twice the average rental of a typical pub.
Wetherspoon is facing an aggressive attack in the dis-count market, once practically its sole preserve, with Bass and Punch Taverns also offering cheaper beer. As a result, its share price has come under pressure with investors fearing the impact of the new rivals. From highs of 464p in February, Wetherspoon shares have slipped to about 340p, falling further on Wedneday after a downgrade from CCF Charterhouse.
'Wetherspoon can't slow the expansion plans or their earnings growth will slow down,' said one analyst. Bass is known to be looking to expand its discount Goose chain, which goes head-to-head against Wetherspoon. There are currently only 16 Goose outlets, and analysts are speculating on a massive expansion, especially in the South-East. Many of the 550 pubs Bass bought from Allied Domecq are expected to be transformed into the discount Goose format.
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ATLANTA — More than 23,500 individuals from 69 countries attended the 2019 NACS Show in Atlanta, which delivered four days of learning, insights, networking, and exploring what’s new and exciting for the global convenience and fuel retailing industry.
As always, one of the highlights of NACS Show 2019 was the expo floor, which this year spanned 425,000-plus net square feet and featured more than 1,200 exhibitors, from startups to big brands. The expo floor also included the New Exhibitor Area, 20,000 square feet of dedicated expo space spotlighting more than 200 companies brand-new to the show; and an all-new CBD Pavilion, a partitioned section of the expo that showcased hemp-derived CBD products from 50 industry suppliers.
The Convenience Store News editorial staff was out in force meeting with suppliers and checking out all the expo floor happenings. Here’s our rundown of the top snack takeaways:
Meeting Changing Needs
As consumers look to snacks to fulfill need states in between meals, better-for-you products touting benefits like high protein, less sugar and “free-from” callouts were among the top snack trends spotted at the NACS Show, particularly in alternative snacks and meat snacks.
Conagra Brands introduced the David Energy-Packed Mix, which contains 7 grams of protein and only 1 to 2 grams of sugar per serving. Made from a crunchy mix of lentils, kernels, pepitas and chickpeas, the snack mix is gluten free, includes no artificial flavors or colors, and is made in a peanut- and tree nut-free facility.
Combining the portability of a bar with the nutritional benefits of protein, Lorissa’s Kitchen Whole-Made Medley Bars are labeled as “real snack solutions from a real mom.” The bars are made from 100 percent grass-fed beef or 100 percent all-natural chicken breast and feature dried fruit, nuts, seeds and egg whites. Boasting 10 grams of protein per bar, they are also preservative free, dairy free, and contain no high fructose corn syrup.
The crossover of culinary flavors into snacks was also spotted at this year’s expo, especially chicken-flavored products. Kellogg’s Pringles brand showcased two new varieties, one being Rotisserie Chicken, and the other Parmesan & Roasted Garlic. A company representative told CSNews that these products open up a whole new world of flavor possibilities leveraging what Pringles are known for — stacking.
Chicken was also prevalent at the Jack Link’s booth, where the meat snacks maker sampled new 100 percent chicken varieties in its bar line. The textured bars are a familiar format, but cater to consumers desiring alternatives to beef.
The 2019 NACS Show took place Oct. 1-4 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.


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UK government reaches 11,000 iPhone SE deal
Another day, another major deployment of Apple technology in the kind of places we long ago abandoned expectation the company could boldly go. The enterprise adoption of inventions from Cupertino is becoming normalized.
11,000 iPhone SE’s for gov
So, what’s happening? Following news that Orange Business Services is drinking its own cup of ice water to become an Apple Authorized Reseller for Enterprise clients, we learn the UK government is making yet another big investment in Apple products.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has awarded the UK’s fourth largest government reseller XMA the contract to provide 11,000 64GB iPhone SE 2020’s for the department responsible for managing the misery of a growing chunk of the nation’s population.
The iPhones will be supplied with asset-tracking tags and independent support for IBM software, most likely to ensure tight integration of the department’s back-end systems.
XMA has been grabbing a slice of multiple deals of this type in recent months, including supply of tablets to Scottish schools and involvement in the UK’s poor attempt to provide laptops to children to support home learning during the pandemic.
Fans of UK government procurement deals can find more details on the deal here.
What’s the frequency, Kenneth?
Now, there’s little doubt that enterprise investments in new equipment happen all the time, but it’s hard to ignore the direction of travel here:
On security, longevity and in terms of TCO, there’s no mobile platform to compete with iPhone, and this is driving enterprises of every stripe (including government and NGO’s) to purchase these devices.
The trend doesn’t stop there, after all, once you’ve begun using an iPhone it’s a relatively simple step to make the leap to using a Mac, especially a s a growing number of iPhone apps will now work on current M1 Macs.
That last point is significant for another reason, as it makes it simple for enterprises to build on one platform to support many – in this case those iPad apps become business tools across iPhone and Mac. Windows, meanwhile, is becoming the ubiquitous companion across every platform, driving he infrastructure while becoming increasingly available as a tablet or online.
The new PC industry isn’t just about PCs, it’s about mobile devices and edge services, boosted by high-end cloud infrastructure from the likes of SAP, Oracle, and IBM. It’s platform independence means Apple is staking a growing claim in this space, of which more later.